GiftCard Partners Blog

We read a lot about gift card “breakage”. That pre-paid industry term that translates to “gift cards that have been sold but never redeemed”. Breakage is a negative term for gift card holders and it’s really not such a positive one for retailers (surprisingly). Although breakage leads to higher profit margins; retailers and merchants are NOT gaining customers or building loyalty if those gift card holders never visit the store to become a real customer. Let’s turn this principle into an opportunity for employers, loyalty programs, and Scrip gift card programs, to communicate to their participants and engage them with your program. You know who you have given gift cards to. So, communicate with those program participants, and use that information to engage them in your program. Although many will have redeemed their gift cards, show you care and send them a reminder to use their cards…that employee, loyalty points redeemer, or the Scrip gift card buyer will thank you for the reminder.

SmartBlog on Leadership reports that only 1/3 of people feel that their company does a good job communicating their benefits to them…these companies are leaving a great company investment un-leveraged. The benefits and incentives, such as the voluntary health and wellness programs you offer, are a huge asset to your company not only when recruiting, but on an ongoing basis for retaining employees and maintaining employee loyalty. "Loyal employees aren’t necessarily those with the most expensive benefits. Rather, they’re employees who understand how to get the most value from their benefits because they received clear, open communication year-round. Employees who think their benefits communication educates them effectively are more satisfied and loyal: 71% are satisfied with their benefits, and 70% feel a strong sense of loyalty." states Jennifer Benz in
Why you should invest in benefits communication. Did you know that a strong benefits & incentive communication strategy could also reduce health care costs?
Click here to start improving your benefits & incentive communications for 2012.

Customer loyalty is key in the market companies currently compete in. Not only is the economy still recovering from a major recession, but the pace of media messaging causes consumer fragmentation that has never been seen before. Maintaining customer loyalty can make or break companies and their bottom lines. Here are three ways companies often get customer loyalty and brand loyalty programs wrong:

The growing demand for receiving gift cards doesn’t stop at holiday wish lists and workplace incentives. The simplicity of gift self-selection and using gift cards to stock the household with needed items, are highly redeeming factors for giving or offering gift cards in today’s difficult economy. Loyalty rewards programs are looking at this demand seriously and we’re starting to see gift cards infusing points redemption programs for credit card rewards, airline miles and consumer loyalty programs. The reason for this is simple;
gift cards offer flexibility and help people pay for everyday items….why wouldn’t loyalty rewards programs offer them to engage customers? For the same reasons, cash back programs are on the most wanted list for rewards program participants. But people are also redeeming in droves for gift cards, above more traditional rewards like travel and merchandise. Each rewards points system offers varying redemption options, but offering gift cards should be considered a priority in a world where consumers demand choice and often thriftiness.
NerdWallet takes a look at  American Express’s rewards program and rates gift cards as the top popular choice, above travel rewards and all other options (listing many as “Bad Redemption Options”). Of course, this isn’t the only perspective for why you should offer gift cards as a redemption option in your program…but as the 22nd most valuable brand in the world, American Express’s rewards program is also one of the most successful rewards programs in the world. What’s in YOUR rewards program?

The Citi Thank You Program is revolutionizing the use of rewards points. Imagine being able to share points with your friends to save up for a get-away weekend, or save up points with one friend for another friends' birthday present. Many people pool points for gift cards from retailers who partner with Citi to make their gift cards available through the Citi ThankYou program such as CVS/Pharmacy and Charming Shoppes stores. This allows consumers to use points for gift cards for themselves, or to use as gifts, giving the recipient of the gift a chance to choose their own gift. You could even pool points with friends and family to make a group contribution to a good cause. Well, now you can. The new Citi ThankYou Point Sharing App on Facebook allows groups of friends to pool points in order to redeem the value of the points for a bigger reward. This app is the beginning of a revolution in monetizing social media. This app is allowing users to move assets and share funds through Facebook, a social media platform. This app will soon promote itself, benefiting not just the Citi ThankYou Program, but its users and potential users as well. The more people use the Point Sharing App, the more people will post on Facebook about it, making the App and its use go viral across the platform. A rewards program that rewards itself, an incentive social media innovation.
For more information on the Citi ThankYou Points Sharing App check out the pymnts.com article.